‘Call of Duty Is A Failure’ Says Industry Analyst

It’s a very hard task denying that the Call of Duty franchise has taking the gaming industry by storm the last few years, raking in billions of profit and gathering quite a massive fan base. This hasn’t stopped Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter calling the Call of Duty franchise a “failure” however, when he spoke at the Game Monetization Summit in San Francisco recently.

Pachter has previously shown his dislike towards the series and even though Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 grossed $1 billion in sales in only 15 days, he wanted to make his negative opinions loud and clear, making comments that will surely get him some heat from publisher Activision and the Call of Duty community.

“Activision did a bad thing with Call of Duty from a profit perspective. They trained gamers that you can buy a game and play it all year, ten hours a week, forever, and you never have to pay again. You just wait for the next Call of Duty,” Pachter told the audience.

“I promise you there are plenty of people, numbering in the millions, who play one game, which is Call of Duty, and they never stop. That’s just like the people who play World of Warcraft and never stop, yet the World of Warcraft guys are paying $180 a year, and the Call of Duty guys are paying $60. So who’s got a better model?” he continued. “This multiplayer thing being free was a mistake. I don’t think anybody ever envisioned it would be this big. It’s a mistake because it keeps those people from buying and playing other games.”

Pachter also talked about developer Bungie’s next project Destiny, that will have a single-player mode, with a multiplayer subscription option available. He states that Activision will take a similar role with future Call of Duty titles because “they’re greedy pigs, and they’re bold.”

Strong words from the analyst, which some fans and business individuals might agree with. What about you? Do you think the Call of Duty franchise has become too greedy? Let us know in the comment section below.

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